Best Buy finally lives up to its name

Investors in beleaguered electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) finally have some good news to celebrate. Shares surged nearly 20% Monday morning after the company's founder, Richard Schulze, announced that he was leading a group that has offered to take the company private.

Getting Best Buy out of the glare of finicky short-term oriented investors could help the struggling company get back on track. But will it really make that much of a difference or just prolong the company's agony? Best Buy is often referred to as Amazon's (AMZN) showroom. That's not a compliment. The strength of Apple's (AAPL) own retail stores isn't helping either. Do you think Ron Johnson wishes he was still at Apple instead of at J.C. Penney (JCP)? But I digress.

Best Buy may be able to avoid the fate of Circuit City if shareholders agree to Schulze's offer and he's allowed to do the necessary things to restructure the retailer. Heck, Best Buy is still in much better shape than fellow electronics retailer RadioShack (RSH).

But retailers focusing on media and electronics have had a difficult time adapting to the age of e-commerce. Blockbuster and Borders both fell victim to many of the same big picture trends that took down Circuit City and that are hurting Best Buy and RadioShack.

Assuming that Best Buy's management and board agrees do Schulze's offer, an LBO could buy the retailer some time. Still, it needs a new strategy as well if it hopes to survive, let alone make an eventual return to the public markets. But maybe the Geek Squad can upgrade from VW Beetles to Mini Coopers? For more about the Best Buy offer, check out today's Buzz video below.

Paul R. La Monica is an assistant managing editor at CNNMoney. He is the author of the site's daily column, The Buzz, and also tweets throughout the day about the markets and economy @LaMonicaBuzz. La Monica also oversees the site's economic, markets and technology coverage.